The activists cited everything from female mutilation to recent terrorist attacks. They were organized by Act for America and stood their ground on the busy street corner across from the Santana Row shopping area.

Across the honking traffic were many who interpreted the message from a different angle. "I mean it's really clear that even though they're hiding as anti-sharia these are actually anti-Muslim protests. This is very antagonistic," U.C. Santa Cruz student Sabina said.

"Just like Jews were targeted in the past, our civil rights are being questioned and we are standing together in solidarity to fight that sentiment," Aisha Piracha with Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Alliance said.

"It's amazing to see so many people come out in the name of unity as opposed to standing against one religious tradition," Spojmie Nasiri with the Council on Islamic American Relations said.

Sign-toting activists periodically walked across the street to infiltrate the other side for a while, but police kept them on the sidewalks and out of the lanes of traffic. In the end it was disruptive but peaceful.